JP2006270441A - Device, method, and program for log data recording - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a device, a method, and a program for log data recording that can record image data by which an image of high quality can be reproduced as to a specified image and reproduce the entire area of an image represented by the image data while reducing a storage capacity for the image data. <P>SOLUTION: When log data representing processing contents of specified processing as to the image data are recorded on a hard disk 30 while the image data are included when the specified processing is executed, it is decided whether the image represented by the image data is a predetermined document image and when it is decided that the image is the predetermined document image, a compression/expansion processing section 32 is controlled to compress the image data with compressibility lower than that of the other case, thereby recording the log data on the hard disk 30 while the compressed image data are included. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a log data recording device, a log data recording method, and a log data recording program, and in particular, when predetermined processing relating to image data is executed, the image data includes log data indicating processing contents of the predetermined processing. The present invention relates to a log data recording device, a log data recording method, and a log data recording program for recording in a recorded state.

  In recent years, due to security problems with information, the contents of processing such as copying and printing are shown for an image copied by a copying machine, an image printed by an image forming apparatus, etc., including image data indicating the image. It has become important to record log data.

  However, it is almost impossible to record all of the image data that has been copied or printed by including it in the log data because a huge recording area is required.

  In order to cope with this, it is conceivable to reduce the size of the image data by applying compression processing to the image data, but the quality of the image reproduced by the image data after the compression processing deteriorates. There is no point in recording the image data as log data so that the image cannot be visually recognized. In particular, for a document image including personal information such as a license, a medical record, a passport and the like that causes a serious problem due to the leakage of information, it is necessary to make the reproduced image sufficiently recognizable visually.

As a technique that can be applied to solve the above-described problems, Patent Document 1 discloses a general technique for transmission data for the purpose of saving a transmission image together with a communication history without having a mass storage device. In a facsimile apparatus that stores various items as history data and prints the history data in response to a print request, a communication history storage unit for storing the history data and a part of the transmission data reduce the amount of data by compression processing. A technique is disclosed that includes a control unit that reduces and stores the data in the communication history storage area and prints it together with the history data corresponding to the print request.
JP-A-11-69032

  However, in the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, since the recording capacity is reduced by recording only a partial area of transmission data (image data), the image indicated by the image data is not recorded. There was a problem that the entire area could not be reproduced.

  The present invention has been made in order to solve the above problems, and while reducing the recording capacity of image data, it is possible to record image data capable of reproducing a high-quality image for a specific image, It is an object of the present invention to provide a log data recording device, a log data recording method, and a log data recording program that can reproduce the entire area of an image indicated by image data.

  In order to achieve the above object, the log data recording device according to claim 1, wherein when the predetermined process relating to the image data is executed, the log data indicating the processing content of the predetermined process is included in the image data A log data recording device for recording in step (a), wherein a determination means for determining whether an image indicated by the image data is a predetermined document image; and a document image in which the image is predetermined by the determination means When it is determined that the image data is compressed, the compression unit compresses the image data at a lower compression rate than the other cases, and the log data is recorded in a state in which the image data compressed by the compression unit is included. Recording means.

  The log data recording device according to claim 1 is configured to record log data indicating processing contents of the predetermined process in a state in which the image data is included when the predetermined process regarding the image data is executed. . The predetermined process includes an image reading process for acquiring the image data by reading a document image, an image forming process for forming an image using the image data, and transmitting the image data to an external device. Image transmission processing is included. The processing contents of the predetermined process include the image reading date and time, the number of read images, and the read image size when the predetermined process is the image reading process, and when the predetermined process is the image forming process. The image formation date / time, the number of image formations, and the image formation size are included, and the image transmission date / time, the number of transmission images, and the transmission image size when the predetermined processing is the image transmission processing are included.

  Here, in the present invention, it is determined by the determining means whether the image indicated by the image data is a predetermined document image, and the document image in which the image is predetermined by the determining means is determined by the compression means. The image data is compressed at a lower compression rate than the other cases, and the recording means records the log data including the image data compressed by the compression means. Is done. The log data recorded by the recording means includes a RAM (Random Access Memory), an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable and Programmable Read Only Memory), a semiconductor storage element such as a flash EEPROM (Flash EEPROM), smart media (SmartMedia ( (Registered trademark)), a portable recording medium such as a flexible disk, a fixed recording medium such as a hard disk, or various storage means such as an external storage device provided in a server computer connected to a network.

  That is, in the present invention, since the image data is compressed by the compression means, the recording capacity of the image data can be reduced. Further, since the compression target at this time is not only a partial area of the image data but the image data itself, the entire area of the image indicated by the image data can be reproduced. Furthermore, in the present invention, when the image indicated by the image data is a predetermined document image by the compression means, the image data is compressed at a lower compression rate than in other cases, so the image data By making a predetermined document image a specific image such as a license, a medical record, a passport, etc., it is possible to record image data that can reproduce a high-quality image for the specific image compared to other images. it can.

  The compression rate when the image indicated by the image data is a predetermined document image is preferably a compression rate at which the contents of the document image that can be reproduced by the compressed image data can be visually recognized. Furthermore, in consideration of a reduction in recording capacity in the compressed image data, it is preferable to set the maximum compression rate at which the contents of the document image that can be reproduced by the compressed image data can be visually recognized.

  As described above, according to the log data recording device of the first aspect, when the predetermined process relating to the image data is executed, the log data indicating the processing content of the predetermined process is recorded in a state where the image data is included. In determining whether or not the image indicated by the image data is a predetermined document image, when it is determined that the image is a predetermined document image, the compression rate is higher than in other cases. Since the image data is compressed and the log data is recorded in a state where the compressed image data is included, a high-quality image can be obtained for a specific image while reducing the recording capacity of the image data. Image data that can be reproduced can be recorded, and the entire area of the image indicated by the image data can be reproduced.

  According to the present invention, as in the invention described in claim 2, the image processing apparatus further includes a storage unit that stores in advance characteristic data indicating characteristics of the predetermined document image, and the determination unit includes the image data and the It may be determined whether or not an image indicated by the image data is a predetermined document image by pattern matching with feature data. The storage means includes a storage means configured as a separate body from the storage means in addition to the storage means that is the log data recording destination of the recording means. Further, the feature data includes image data such as a mark image, a pattern image, a background image, and a seal imprint image indicating the characteristics of the document image in addition to the template data indicating the format of the predetermined document image.

  In particular, according to the second aspect of the present invention, as in the third aspect of the present invention, the characteristic data is characteristic image data indicating a characteristic image of the predetermined document image, and the determination unit performs the characteristic data. When it is determined that the image is a predetermined document image, the image processing apparatus further includes a deletion unit that deletes the feature image data from the image data, and the compression unit is configured to determine the image by the determination unit. When it is determined that the image is a document image, the image data from which the feature image data has been deleted by the deleting unit may be compressed.

  Further, as in the invention described in claim 4, the compression means of the present invention sets a compression rate for each image area when there are a plurality of different image areas in the image indicated by the image data. Alternatively, the image data may be compressed. Note that the types of image areas include photographic images and character images.

  Further, as in the invention described in claim 5, the present invention further comprises second determination means for determining whether or not the predetermined processing has been performed under a predetermined special condition, and the compression means includes: When the determination unit determines that the image is not a predetermined document image, and the second determination unit determines that the predetermined process is performed under a predetermined special condition, the determination unit When the image is determined not to be a predetermined document image, and the second determination unit determines that the predetermined process is not performed under a predetermined special condition, the image is reduced in compression rate. The data may be compressed.

  In particular, according to a fifth aspect of the invention, as in the sixth aspect of the invention, the predetermined process is an image forming process for forming an image using the image data, and the special condition is the image data. The reduction ratio when the operation for reducing and forming the image indicated by is performed is special, and the enlargement ratio when the operation for enlarging and forming the image indicated by the image data is special. It may be at least one of being a certain size and a special size of the image forming medium when an operation for forming an image indicated by the image data is performed.

  On the other hand, in order to achieve the above object, the log data recording method according to claim 7 includes log data indicating the processing content of the predetermined process when the predetermined process related to the image data is executed. Log data recording method for recording in a recorded state, wherein it is determined whether or not the image indicated by the image data is a predetermined document image, and the image is determined to be a predetermined document image In this case, the image data is compressed at a lower compression rate than in other cases, and the log data is recorded in a state where the compressed image data is included.

  Therefore, according to the log data recording method described in claim 7, since it operates in the same manner as the invention described in claim 1, as in the invention described in claim 1, while reducing the recording capacity of the image data, For a specific image, image data that can reproduce a high-quality image can be recorded, and the entire area of the image indicated by the image data can be reproduced.

  On the other hand, in order to achieve the above object, the log data recording program according to claim 8 includes log data indicating processing contents of the predetermined process when the predetermined process related to the image data is executed. A log data recording program for recording an image in a recorded state, wherein a determination step for determining whether or not an image indicated by the image data is a predetermined document image; and the image is predetermined by the determination step When it is determined that the image is a document image, the compression step of compressing the image data at a lower compression rate than the other cases, and the log data including the image data compressed by the compression step The recording step of recording is executed by a computer.

  Therefore, according to the log data recording program of the eighth aspect, the computer can be operated in the same manner as the first aspect of the invention, so that the image data can be recorded in the same manner as the first aspect of the invention. While reducing the recording capacity, it is possible to record image data that can reproduce a high-quality image for a specific image, and it is possible to reproduce the entire area of the image indicated by the image data.

  As described above, according to the present invention, when a predetermined process related to image data is executed, log data indicating the processing content of the predetermined process is recorded in a state in which the image data is included. When it is determined whether or not the displayed image is a predetermined document image, and it is determined that the image is a predetermined document image, the image data is reduced with a compression rate lower than the other cases. Since the compressed log data is recorded in a state where the compressed image data is included, image data that can reproduce a high-quality image is recorded for a specific image while reducing the recording capacity of the image data. And an excellent effect that the entire area of the image indicated by the image data can be reproduced.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that, here, the present invention is connected to an external device via a network so as to be communicable, an image reading function for reading an image, image data acquired from the external device by the external connection function, and the image A case will be described in which the present invention is applied to a digital multifunction machine having an image forming function for forming (printing) an image indicated by image data acquired by a reading function.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the digital multifunction peripheral 10 according to the present embodiment includes a scanner unit 40 that reads an image from a document placed at a predetermined reading position and acquires image data indicating the document image, and a scanner. An apparatus main body 60 that performs image forming processing using image data acquired by the unit 40, image data acquired from an external apparatus, and the like, and a paper feeder 62 that supplies recording paper (not shown) to the apparatus main body 60 A touch panel display (hereinafter referred to as “display”) 64 that displays various information such as a menu screen and a message and has a transparent touch panel integrally provided on the display surface, and an apparatus main body 60 on which an image is formed. And a discharge tray 66 for holding the recording paper discharged from the printer.

  In the digital multi-function peripheral 10 according to the present embodiment, an image forming engine unit 50 (see FIG. 2, not shown in FIG. 1) that performs an image forming process on a recording sheet by an electrophotographic method is provided in the apparatus main body 60. Is provided. In the digital multi-function peripheral 10, a pressure-sensitive touch panel is used as the touch panel, and various touches on the digital multi-function peripheral 10 are made when the user touches the display surface of the display 64 with a fingertip (touch operation). Can be instructed. In the digital multi-function peripheral 10, the number of image forming copies, the type of recording paper (paper size), and the image forming magnification can be set via the display 64 when performing image forming processing by the image forming function. Furthermore, the scanner unit 40 according to the present embodiment has a function of detecting the size of a document.

  The digital multifunction peripheral 10 according to the present embodiment is connected to an external device such as a personal computer (hereinafter referred to as “PC”) 70 via a network 80 by an external connection function. The image data to be subjected to image formation can be acquired from the image data, and the image data acquired by the scanner unit 40 can be transmitted to an external device such as the PC 70.

  The PC 70 has a display 72 for displaying various types of information, a mouse 74A for pointing the position on the screen of the image displayed on the display 72, a keyboard 74B for inputting character information, and the like. The computer has a computer main body 76 that controls the entire operation of the PC 70. Since this configuration is general, further description of the PC 70 is omitted.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 2, the configuration of the main part of the electrical system of the digital multifunction peripheral 10 will be described.

  The digital multifunction machine 10 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 12 that controls the operation of the entire apparatus, a RAM 14 that is used as a work area when various programs are executed, and a ROM 16 that stores various programs and various parameters in advance. The display driver 18 that performs control for displaying various information on the display 64 and the operation input detection unit 20 that detects a touch operation on the display 64 are provided.

  The digital multi-function peripheral 10 includes a scanner driver 26 that controls an optical image reading operation by the scanner unit 40, an image forming engine control unit 28 that controls each unit of the image forming engine unit 50, and various types of information. Various kinds of information are transmitted and received between the hard disk 30 for storing image data, the compression / decompression processing unit 32 that performs compression processing and decompression processing on image data, and an external device connected to the network 80 via the connector 36. And a network I / F (interface) unit 34.

  The CPU 12, RAM 14, ROM 16, display driver 18, operation input detection unit 20, scanner driver 26, image formation engine control unit 28, hard disk 30, compression / decompression processing unit 32, and network I / F unit 34 are connected to the system bus. They are mutually and electrically connected via the BUS.

  Therefore, the CPU 12 accesses the RAM 12, ROM 14, hard disk 30, displays various information on the display 64 via the display driver 18, and grasps the operation content of the user's touch operation on the display 64 via the operation input detection unit 20. , Control of the operation of the scanner unit 40 via the scanner driver 26, control of the operation of the image formation engine unit 50 via the image formation engine control unit 28, control of the operation of the compression / decompression processing unit 32, and network I / F Various information can be exchanged with the external device via the unit 34 and the connector 36.

  By the way, the digital multifunction peripheral 10 according to the present embodiment includes a predetermined process related to image data (in the present embodiment, it is one of an image reading process by an image reading function and an image forming process by an image forming function. When the “predetermined image processing” is executed, log data indicating the processing content of the predetermined image processing is recorded in a state in which the image data is included, and registered by the image log registration function. An image log display function for displaying recorded log data is installed.

  In the image log registration function according to the present embodiment, it is determined whether or not the image data to be recorded as log data indicates a predetermined document image (hereinafter referred to as “specific document image”). When a specific document image is indicated, the compression / decompression processing unit 32 compresses the image data at a lower compression rate than other images.

  For this reason, in a predetermined area of the hard disk 30 of the digital multi-function peripheral 10, as schematically shown as an example in FIG. 3, template data indicating the characteristics of the specific document image is displayed together with information indicating the corresponding specific document image. Stored in advance. Note that in the digital multifunction peripheral 10 according to the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B as an example, data indicating the ruled lines of a specific document image is applied as the template data, and correspondingly. Coordinate data indicating the position of the start point and end point of the ruled line in the specific document image (horizontal and vertical coordinate data with the upper left corner point of the corresponding specific document image as the origin) is applied.

  In the image log registration function according to the present embodiment, whether or not the image data indicates any specific document image is determined by pattern matching between the template data and the image data to be recorded. Judgment.

  On the other hand, in the image log registration function according to the present embodiment, a compression rate for each specific document image and for each different type of image area is determined in advance, and data indicating the compression rate (hereinafter referred to as “image compression data”). Is stored in a predetermined area of the hard disk 30 in advance.

  As shown in FIG. 5 as an example, the compressed image data according to the present embodiment is stored for each piece of information indicating a specific document image corresponding to information indicating an image area and information indicating a compression rate applied to the image area. Has been. In the example shown in the figure, as the types of image areas, a photographic image (“photograph part”), an image showing a character string of a predetermined number (“character part (number part)”), and other than the predetermined number There are four types of images that specify character strings (“character part (others)”) and images other than these images (“others”). In the embodiment, the coordinate data in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction with the upper left corner point of the corresponding specific document image as the origin is the coordinate data indicating the positions of the upper left corner point and the lower right corner point of the corresponding image area). Has been.

  In the image log registration function, image data representing a specific document image is subjected to compression processing in a state where the compression rate is changed for each image area in accordance with the image compression data. Therefore, the compression / decompression processing unit 32 according to the present embodiment is configured to be able to compress the image data to be subjected to compression processing at a set compression rate for each set image area. Yes.

  In the image log registration function according to the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6 as an example, information indicating the processing content set by the user when executing the predetermined image processing and the image data to be recorded Information indicating the specific document image and the image data after compression processing are recorded together with information indicating the date and time when the predetermined image processing was executed. . In the image log registration function according to the present embodiment, information indicating whether the predetermined image process is an image reading process or an image forming process (“reading / printing”) as the information indicating the processing content. , Information indicating the number of images read or the number of images formed (“number of sheets”), information indicating the image formation magnification (“magnification”) when the predetermined image processing is image formation processing, and recording as the read image size or image formation target Information indicating the size of the paper (“paper size”) and information indicating the external device when the image forming process is executed by an instruction from the external device such as the PC 70 via the network 80 (“instruction source”, here , Information indicating the login user name) is recorded. Further, in the image log registration function according to the present embodiment, the information indicating the date and time is acquired by reading it from a timer for timekeeping built in the digital multi-function peripheral 10.

  Further, in the image log registration function according to the present embodiment, it is determined whether or not the predetermined image processing has been performed under a predetermined special condition, and the image indicated by the image data to be recorded is not a specific document image. And when it is determined that the predetermined image processing is performed under a predetermined special condition, it is determined that the image indicated by the image data to be recorded is not a specific document image, and the predetermined image processing is performed. It is assumed that the image data is compressed at a lower compression rate than when it is determined that the processing is not performed under a predetermined special condition.

  In the digital multifunction peripheral 10 according to the present embodiment, as the special condition, the reduction ratio when the operation for reducing and forming the image indicated by the image data is performed is special, and the image The enlargement ratio is special when an operation to enlarge and form the image indicated by the data is performed, and the recording paper size is special when the operation to form the image indicated by the image data is performed. Three conditions are applied.

  That is, normally, when forming a reduced image or an enlarged image, for example, from a standard size to a standard size different from the standard size, such as reduction from A3 size to A4 size, or enlargement from B5 size to A4 size. In general, the reduction rate and the enlargement rate are predetermined magnifications such as 70% and 115%. Therefore, in the digital multi-function peripheral 10 according to the present embodiment, the reduction such as 75% or 110% is set as an example other than the magnification used when reducing or enlarging the standard size to the standard size. The rate and enlargement rate are special.

  When an image is formed, it is generally formed on a regular sheet of A5 size or larger. Therefore, in the digital multi-function peripheral 10 according to the present embodiment, the fact that the image formation on the recording paper of less than A5 size is set is that the size of the recording paper is special.

  In the digital multi-function peripheral 10 according to the present embodiment, a document image including personal information such as a license, a medical record, and a passport is applied as the specific document image.

  Next, the operation of the digital multifunction peripheral 10 when executing the image log registration function will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a flow of an image log registration processing program executed by the CPU 12 of the digital multi-function peripheral 10 when the image reading process or the image forming process is executed. Pre-stored in the area. In the following, the image data acquired by the image reading process or the image data used for image formation in the image forming process is referred to as “processing target image data”, and the image indicated by the processing target image data is referred to as “processing target image data”. The image reading process or the image forming process that has been executed is referred to as an “executed image process”.

  In step 100 of the figure, all template data (see also FIG. 3) is read from the hard disk 30, and in the next step 102, pattern matching between the processing target image data and all the read template data is performed. It is determined whether there is a specific document image registered in advance that substantially matches the processing target image. If the determination is affirmative, the process proceeds to step 104. In the image log registration processing program according to the present embodiment, as the pattern matching in step 102 described above, image data indicating all linear images is extracted from the processing target image data by a conventionally known linear image extraction algorithm. The positions of all the straight line images in the processing target image are compared with the positions of all the ruled line images indicated by the read template data, and a predetermined number of template data (in this case, the difference between the positions is within a predetermined error range) A specific document image having a number equal to or greater than 90% of the number of template data provided in each specific document image is determined to substantially match the processing target image.

  In step 104, compressed image data (information indicating the image area and information indicating the compression rate) corresponding to the specific document image determined to be substantially the same in step 102 (hereinafter referred to as “applied specific document image”) is stored on the hard disk. In step 106, the image data to be processed is indicated by the information indicating the read compression ratio for each image area indicated by the information indicating the read image area. The compression is set to be performed at the compression rate, and then the process proceeds to step 108. In step 102, a plurality of application specific document images may be detected. In this case, the application with the highest degree of coincidence (the largest number of template data in which the position difference is within a predetermined error range) is applied. A specific document image is applied.

  In step 108, processing for deleting template data of the application specific document image from the processing target image data (here, the image data corresponding to the ruled line image indicated by the template data of the application specific document image is replaced with image data indicating white. Process), and then the process proceeds to step 116.

  On the other hand, if the determination in step 102 is negative, the process proceeds to step 110, where it is determined whether the execution image processing is image formation processing and the image formation processing has been performed under the special conditions described above. If the determination is affirmative, the process proceeds to step 112, and the compression / decompression processing unit 32 determines the processing target image data as a compression rate lower than a predetermined high compression rate, which will be described later, for all image regions. It sets so that it may compress with a low compression rate (this embodiment 40%), and it transfers to step 116 after that.

  On the other hand, if a negative determination is made in step 110, the process proceeds to step 114, and the compression / decompression processing unit 32 sends the processing target image data to a predetermined high compression ratio (this embodiment) for all image areas. Is set to compress at 80%), and then the process proceeds to step 116.

  In step 116, the compression / decompression processing unit 32 is instructed to execute compression processing on the processing target image data. In response to this, the compression / decompression processing unit 32 performs the compression process under the compression condition set in any of Step 106, Step 112, and Step 114. In the compression / decompression processing unit 32 according to the present embodiment, a JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) method is applied as a compression method.

  Therefore, in the next step 118, information indicating the processing content of the execution image processing and the specific image in which the processing target image data is included in the state where the processing target image data compressed by the compression / decompression processing unit 32 is included. Information indicating the specific document image when it is determined to indicate an image and information indicating the date and time when the execution image processing is executed are recorded in the hard disk 30 as image log data (see also FIG. 6). (Register), and then the image log registration processing program is terminated.

  The processing of step 102 of the image log registration processing program corresponds to the determination step of the present invention, the processing of step 116 corresponds to the compression step of the present invention, and the processing of step 118 corresponds to the recording step of the present invention.

  Next, the operation of the digital multi-function peripheral 10 when executing the image log display function will be described with reference to FIG. 8 shows an image log display executed by the CPU 12 of the digital multi-function peripheral 10 at a predetermined timing (here, a timing when an instruction input for instructing execution of the image log display function is performed by the user via the display 64). It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a process of a process program, and the said program is beforehand memorize | stored in the predetermined area | region of ROM16. Here, a case will be described in which a period for which image log data is to be displayed is set in advance by the user.

  First, in step 200, image log data for one image corresponding to the period to be displayed is read from the hard disk 30 (see also FIG. 6, hereinafter referred to as “processing target log data”), and in the next step 202. By determining whether or not the processing target log data includes information indicating the specific document image, it is determined whether or not the processing target log data is for image data indicating the specific document image. If YES, the process proceeds to step 204.

  In step 204, the compression rate for each image area corresponding to the information indicating the specific document image included in the processing target log data is read from the image compression data (see also FIG. 5). The decompression processing unit 32 is set to perform decompression processing at a decompression rate corresponding to the compression rate read for each image area, and then the process proceeds to step 214.

  On the other hand, if a negative determination is made in step 202, the process proceeds to step 208, and the execution image processing is described above with reference to the magnification and paper size information in the information indicating the processing content included in the processing target log data. It is determined whether or not the process has been performed under special conditions. If the determination is affirmative, the process proceeds to step 210, and the compression / decompression processing unit 32 performs the above-described predetermined low compression rate (for the present embodiment) for all image areas. In the embodiment, the expansion processing is set to be performed at the expansion rate corresponding to 40%), and then the process proceeds to step 214.

  On the other hand, if a negative determination is made in step 208, the process proceeds to step 212, and the compression / decompression processing unit 32 performs the predetermined high compression rate (80% in the present embodiment) for all image areas. ) Is set to perform the expansion process at the expansion rate corresponding to), and then the process proceeds to step 214.

  In step 214, the compression / decompression processing unit 32 is instructed to execute decompression processing on the image data included in the processing target log data. In response to this, the compression / decompression processing unit 32 performs the decompression process under the decompression condition set in any of Step 206, Step 210, and Step 212.

  In the next step 216, it is determined in the same manner as in step 202 above whether the processing target log data is for image data indicating a specific document image. If the determination is affirmative, the process proceeds to step 218. The template data corresponding to the specific document image (see also FIG. 3) is read from the hard disk 30, and the template data is combined with the image data expanded by the process of step 214, and then the process proceeds to step 220. By the processing in step 218, the image portion deleted by the processing in step 108 of the image log registration processing program described above can be restored.

  On the other hand, if a negative determination is made in step 216, the process proceeds to step 220 without executing the process in step 218.

  In step 220, a thumbnail image of the image indicated by the image data obtained by the above processing is created, and the thumbnail image and information other than the image data included in the processing target log data are displayed on the display 64. Then, the process proceeds to step 222.

  In step 222, it is determined whether or not the processing in steps 200 to 220 has been completed for all the image log data corresponding to the display target period preset by the user. Returning to 200, when an affirmative determination is made, the routine proceeds to step 224. It should be noted that when the above steps 200 to 222 are repeatedly executed, image log data that has not been processed until then is set as processing target log data.

  In step 224, control is performed so that an end button designated when instructing the end of the image log display processing program is displayed at a predetermined position on the display 64, and input of predetermined information is waited in the next step 226. .

  By the above processing, the image shown in FIG. 9 as an example is displayed on the display 64. In the image shown in the figure, information other than the image data included in the processing target log data and the thumbnail images are displayed in a list. When an image as shown in the figure is displayed on the display 64, the user selects the thumbnail image when there is a thumbnail image to be enlarged and displays the thumbnail image when the user wants to end the image log display processing program. Are each designated with a fingertip. Accordingly, step 226 is affirmative and the process proceeds to step 228.

  In step 228, it is determined whether or not an end button has been designated by the user. If the determination is affirmative, the present image log display processing program is terminated. If the determination is negative, the process proceeds to step 230. A process of displaying on the display 64 an enlarged image of the thumbnail image designated by the user (the original image of the thumbnail image) is executed, and then the present image log display processing program is terminated.

  As described above in detail, according to the present embodiment, when predetermined processing relating to image data is executed, log data indicating the processing content of the predetermined processing is recorded in a state in which the image data is included. If it is determined whether the image indicated by the image data is a predetermined document image (here, a specific document image), and it is determined that the image is a predetermined document image, Since the image data is compressed by lowering the compression rate than in other cases, and the log data is recorded in a state where the compressed image data is included, a specific image is reduced while reducing the recording capacity of the image data. As for, it is possible to record image data capable of reproducing a high-quality image and to reproduce the entire area of the image indicated by the image data.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, feature data (here, template data) indicating the characteristics of the predetermined document image is stored in advance by a storage means (here, the hard disk 30), and the image data Since it is determined whether or not the image indicated by the image data is a predetermined document image by pattern matching with the feature data, the determination can be performed automatically and easily.

  In particular, according to the present embodiment, the feature data is feature image data indicating a characteristic image of the predetermined document image, and it is determined that the image is a predetermined document image. In addition, the feature image data is deleted from the image data, and the image data from which the feature image data has been deleted is compressed by a compression unit (here, the compression / decompression processing unit 32). As compared with the case where the image data is compressed without being deleted, the recording capacity of the image data can be further reduced.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, since the image data is compressed by changing the compression rate for each different image area in the image indicated by the image data, it is necessary for reproduction for each image area. It is possible to perform compression at an appropriate compression rate according to the image quality to be performed.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, it is determined whether or not the predetermined processing has been performed under a special condition determined in advance, and the compression unit determines that the image is not a predetermined document image, When it is determined that the predetermined process is performed under a predetermined special condition, it is determined that the image is not a predetermined document image, and the predetermined process is performed under a predetermined special condition. Since the image data is compressed at a lower compression rate than the case where it is determined that the predetermined processing is not performed, a high-quality image is also obtained for the image data when the predetermined processing is performed under predetermined special conditions. It can be recorded in a reproducible state.

  In particular, according to the present embodiment, the special condition is indicated by the image data that the reduction ratio is special when an operation for reducing and forming the image indicated by the image data is performed. The enlargement ratio when an operation for enlarging and forming an image is performed, and an image forming medium when an operation for forming an image indicated by the image data is performed (here, recording paper) ) Is special, the image data meeting these conditions can be recorded in a state where a high-quality image can be reproduced.

  In this embodiment, the case where the JPEG method is applied as the image data compression method has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, the MR (Modified READ Code) method, the MMR (Modified). A reversible compression method such as Modified READ Code method may be applied. Also in this case, the same effects as in the present embodiment can be obtained.

  In this embodiment, the case where template data indicating a ruled line image (straight line image) is applied as feature data of the present invention has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, a specific document image Image data indicating the image itself such as a mark image, a pattern image, a background image, and a seal imprint image indicating the characteristics of the image may be applied. Also in this case, the same effects as in the present embodiment can be obtained.

  Further, the pattern matching technique of the present invention is not limited to the one described in the present embodiment, and it goes without saying that any conventionally known pattern matching technique can be applied.

  In addition, the configuration (see FIGS. 1 and 2) of the digital multifunction peripheral 10 described in the present embodiment is merely an example, and it is needless to say that the configuration can be appropriately changed without departing from the gist of the present invention.

  Further, the flow of each processing of the image log registration processing program and the image log display processing program described in the present embodiment (see FIGS. 7 and 8) is also an example, and is appropriately selected within the scope not departing from the gist of the present invention. Needless to say, it can be changed.

  The configuration of the display image shown in this embodiment (see FIG. 9) is also an example, and it is needless to say that the display image can be changed as appropriate without departing from the gist of the present invention.

  The configuration of various data shown in this embodiment (FIGS. 3, 5, and 6) is also an example, and new data can be added or unnecessary data can be deleted as necessary. Not to mention what you can do.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to a digital multi-function peripheral has been described. However, the present invention is an information apparatus having a function for executing processing relating to image data, such as a scanner device, a printer device, and a facsimile device. Needless to say, it can be applied to anything.

1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration of a digital multifunction peripheral according to an embodiment and a connection state with an external device of the digital multifunction peripheral. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a main part of an electric system of a digital multifunction peripheral according to an embodiment. It is a schematic diagram which shows the data structure of the template data which concerns on embodiment. It is a figure with which it uses for description of the template data which concerns on embodiment, and is the schematic which shows an example of the image which template data shows. It is a schematic diagram which shows the data structure of the image compression data which concern on embodiment. It is a schematic diagram which shows the data structure of the image log data which concerns on embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a process of the image log registration process program which concerns on embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a process of the image log display processing program which concerns on embodiment. It is the schematic which shows an example of the display image by the image log display processing program which concerns on embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

10 Digital MFP 12 CPU (determination means, recording means, second determination means)
30 Hard disk (storage means)
32 Compression / decompression processing unit (compression means)
40 Scanner unit 50 Image forming engine unit 64 Display

Claims (8)

A log data recording device that records log data indicating the processing content of a predetermined process in a state in which the image data is included when a predetermined process related to image data is executed,
Determination means for determining whether an image indicated by the image data is a predetermined document image;
A compression unit that compresses the image data at a lower compression rate than the other cases when the determination unit determines that the image is a predetermined document image;
Recording means for recording the log data in a state in which the image data compressed by the compression means is included;
A log data recording device. A storage means for storing in advance characteristic data indicating the characteristics of the predetermined document image;
The log data recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit determines whether an image indicated by the image data is a predetermined document image by pattern matching between the image data and the feature data. The feature data is feature image data indicating a characteristic image of the predetermined document image,
A deletion unit that deletes the feature image data from the image data when the determination unit determines that the image is a predetermined document image;
The log according to claim 2, wherein the compression unit compresses the image data from which the feature image data has been deleted by the deletion unit when the determination unit determines that the image is a predetermined document image. Data recording device. The compression means compresses the image data by changing the compression rate for each image area when there are a plurality of different types of image areas in the image indicated by the image data. The log data recording device according to claim 1. A second determination unit for determining whether or not the predetermined process is performed under a predetermined special condition;
The compression means is determined when the determination means determines that the image is not a predetermined document image, and the second determination means determines that the predetermined processing has been performed under a predetermined special condition. The compression rate is higher than when the determination unit determines that the image is not a predetermined document image and the second determination unit determines that the predetermined process is not performed under a predetermined special condition. The log data recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image data is compressed by lowering the value. The predetermined process is an image forming process for forming an image using the image data,
The special condition is that a reduction ratio is special when an operation for reducing and forming the image indicated by the image data is performed, and an operation for enlarging and forming the image indicated by the image data is performed. The enlargement ratio at the time of breaking is special, and the size of the image forming medium is special when an operation for forming an image indicated by the image data is performed. The log data recording device described. A log data recording method for recording log data indicating a processing content of a predetermined process when the predetermined process related to image data is performed, in a state in which the image data is included,
Determining whether the image indicated by the image data is a predetermined document image;
When it is determined that the image is a predetermined document image, the image data is compressed at a lower compression rate than in other cases,
Recording the log data with the compressed image data included;
Log data recording method. A log data recording program for recording log data indicating the processing contents of the predetermined process when the predetermined process related to the image data is executed, in a state in which the image data is included,
A determination step of determining whether an image indicated by the image data is a predetermined document image;
A compression step of compressing the image data at a lower compression rate than the other cases when the determination step determines that the image is a predetermined document image;
A recording step of recording the log data in a state in which the image data compressed by the compression step is included;
Log data recording program that causes a computer to execute.

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